There are no sure things in television, but HBO's latest series, "Westworld," has stacked the deck in its favor with top-drawer talent.

The cable channel announced Monday that it was taking the remake of writer-director Michael Crichton's 1973 science-fiction thriller to series.

Set in a futuristic amusement park -- the type of locale Crichton mined again in "Jurassic Park" -- the film featured a robotic Wild West gunman, played by Yul Brynner, whose programming goes wonky, causing him to attack the guests.

Jonathan Nolan, who co-wrote "Interstellar" with his brother, Christopher, and created the CBS thriller "Person of Interest," co-wrote and executive produced the remake along with writer Lisa Joy.

Nolan, who is also adapting Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" novels for into a series for HBO, directed the pilot.